The Proteas Women recorded their first-ever ODI victory over Australia after levelling the series at the North Sydney Oval on Wednesday.
Marizanne Kapp delivered an outstanding all-around performance to lead the Proteas Women to a 84-run victory on the DLS method against Australia in the second ODI.
The visitors’ triumph levelled the series at 1-1, with the multi-format tour standing at six points to four in favour of Australia.
Kapp showcased brilliance with a 75-run innings off 87 balls, featuring 12 fours, enabling South Africa to post a commendable 229-6 in 45 overs after a rain delay reduced the game by five overs per side.
Kapp (3-12), along with Marx (2-22), De Klerk (2-26), and Hlubi (2-41), then combined forces to dismiss Australia for 149 all out after 29.3 overs.
After losing the toss and being asked to bat first, the Proteas recovered from an early setback as captain Laura Wolvaardt (nought) was dismissed with the third ball of the match.
Tazmin Brits (21) and Anneke Bosch (44) then formed a solid 52-run partnership to guide their side through the powerplay.
Australia’s Annabel Sutherland (1-28) eventually broke the second-wicket stand, with Brits departing, and Bosch falling six runs short of a half-century to Ashleigh Gardner (2-31), leaving South Africa at 71-3 in the 16th over.
Despite being three down, the Proteas found another key partnership between Kapp and Suné Luus (19) worth 46 runs before Gardner struck again to remove Luus with the away side moving into triple figures.
At 136-4 with Kapp and De Klerk (14) at the crease, rain interrupted play for an hour before Kim Garth (1-42) dismissed De Klerk.
There was another brief delay in the 35th over before Kapp reached her 14th career half-century in a 45-run partnership with Chloé Tryon for the sixth wicket.
Kapp was the last wicket to fall in the 42nd over. In a strong finish for the Proteas, Tryon ended unbeaten on 37* off 36 balls (three fours, one six), taking the South Africans to 229-6 after 45 overs.
Australia, requiring a revised DLS target of 234 to win, faced early setbacks with the dismissals of Alyssa Healy (four), Beth Mooney (nought), and Phoebe Litchfield (14) as Kapp tore through the host’s top-order, leaving them at 34-3 in the seventh over.
Hlubi and Marx further compounded Australia’s woes, dismissing Ellyse Perry (two) and Annabel Sutherland (one), with the home side reeling at 58-5.
With the South African team in dominant form, Hlubi secured her second wicket by clean bowling Georgia Wareham for a duck, while De Klerk took two wickets in one over to dismiss Tahlia McGrath (22) and Alana King (nought) in the 14th over.
Facing defeat, Australia’s Gardner (35) and Garth (42*) forged a world record partnership for the ninth wicket, adding 77 runs before Marx crucially dismissed Gardner in the 29th over.
This was followed by the match-winning removal of Megan Schutt (one), sealing South Africa’s first-ever ODI victory against the hosts.
Special mention goes to wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta, who claimed four catches behind the stumps, contributing to the quality bowling from the touring side.
Along with levelling the series and narrowing the gap in the multi-format tour points tally, South Africa’s win has also propelled Hilton Moreeng’s charges back to joint-top of the 2022-25 ICC Women’s Championship standings with Australia, both on 20 points.
Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
